latency

(noun)

The delay between a stimulus and the response it triggers in an organism.

Examples of latency in the following topics:

  • Freud's Psychosexual Theory of Development

    • According to Freud, children’s pleasure-seeking urges (governed by the id) are focused on a different area of the body, called an erogenous zone, at each of the five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
    • Latency (6-12 years of age): During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and children begin to further develop the superego, or conscience.

  • Reinforcement and Punishment

    • The strengthening effect on the behavior can manifest in multiple ways, including higher frequency, longer duration, greater magnitude, and short latency of response.

  • Psychodynamic Psychology

    • Freud’s psychosexual model of development includes five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

  • Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

    • Specifically, he maintained that these conflicts progress through a series of five basic stages, each with a different focus: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.